Victory #3!

Photo Courtesy of CBS News

Following the sit-in at the Republic Windows and Doors Factory in Chicago, which was resolved in the workers favor this morning, and the successful unionization, after a 4-year legal battle, of a Wal-Mart store in Saskatchewan, Canada by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), workers at Smithfield Packing Co in Tar Heel, North Carolina have voted to unionize and join the UFCW. Woo Hoo!

Today's victory for the workers in Tar Heel, North Carolina is nothing short of historic. Like the workers at Republic, the workers who voted to join the union at Smithfield are courageous and succeeded against incredibly steep odds. This was the UFCW's third attempt at unionizing one of the largest pork processing facilities in the world, after two failed efforts in the 1990s. UFCW's failed attempts to unionize in the 90s were marred by extensive violations of workers rights by the company which included racial epithets, intimidation, and violence. For more on Smithfield's despicable record of workers' rights abuses, check out this great report by Human Rights Watch. North Carolina is also the most anti-union state in the entire country: less than 4% of workers in North Carolina are union members, compared to a national average of 12.1%.

Also like the successful occupation of Republic Windows and Doors, the victory for Smithfield workers would not have been possible without an extensive solidarity/boycott campaign, which Smithfield unsuccessfully claimed was a form of racketeering. I am proud to say that I played a very, very small part in the Smithfield boycott campaign last summer. Congratulations to the workers and to everyone who contributed to this victory!

Let's face it folks, the revolution is coming. All you fascists are bound to lose!